Typical Stereotypes Of Gay Athletes In The Locker Room

A few weeks ago San Francisco 49ers Coach Jim Harbaugh, was asked how he would react to having a "gay player" on the team. In a powerful statement he replied, "I ask all players to play through their own personality and be who they are. What you ask of a player is to be a great teammate and be a good player. My expectations would be the same." (Source: blog.sfgate.com)

Bravo Jim and thanks for being "human" in your response. Ironically, if you were to remove all references to the word "player," and replace it with "person," "someone" and "people," what more could you ask of anyone, gay or straight.

"I ask all people to play through their own personality and be who they are. What you ask of a someone is to be a great person and be a good person. My expectations would be the same."

I realize it's not exactly grammatically correct, yet it does make a point! When you remove the label player and substitute it with other words in the sentence, suddenly it becomes a win/win and is simply about humanity.

Ironically, most of the teammates supported the coach's perspective, except for those who said they felt leery about changing and showering with a gay teammate. Really? Shall we go back to high school and cover up our groins because we're teen boys who feel inferior because our "junk" is not as developed as someone else's?

Where does it say in the gay handbook, "Thou shalt covet thy fellow players penis and bubble butt?" Yes, I love a well built man with a good physique in uniform but that doesn’t mean because I'm gay I'm going to jump your bones in the locker and drag you into the shower and have my way with you! Hands down, this is one of the most stereotypical assumptions that gets made each and every day about homosexuals and even more so about gay men.Keep reading ...

Rick is a straight-forward, compassionate, insightful, challenging, mentor, guide, and Certified Professional Coach who's been featured on The Ricki Lake Show, and is a highly sought after radio show personality, blogger, author, and faculty member of Sex Coach U. His loving, challenging, gentle, and inspiring approach ignites a fire in clients, helping them get through the darkest moments of life and come out the other side, kicking butt, and being authentically themselves.

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11. Cameron and Mitchell, Modern Family

Cameron and Mitchell are the absolute cutest, whether they're revisiting Cam's clown past or bickering over Mitchell being uptight. Their relationship is both hilarious and realistic, and their sassy daughter Lily just completes it. They're everything.

ABC

10. Piper and Alex, Orange Is The New Black

You know it's love when you're constantly getting roped into various dramas involving heroin, jailtime and horrific eyebrows just to be together.

Netflix

9. Arizona and Callie, Grey's Anatomy

Arizona and Callie were cute on Grey's Anatomy, even rocking their own distinctly styled gorgeous dresses at their wedding. But it's Grey's Anatomy and it's been on TV for way too long, so of course they couldn't just stay together and be happy. How else can they continue any storylines at this point? (Seriously guys, pull the plug on this show. When people begin to miss or agree with Katherine Heigl, it's time to take it out to pasture.)

ABC

8. Kalinda and Lana, The Good Wife

Bisexual master manipulator Kalinda Sharma can pretty much have her way with anyone she wants on The Good Wife, and then she'll use them however she wishes. While her relationship with Cary Agos is the most tragically romantic of sorts, her chemistry with FBI agent Lana Delaney is the hottest of any couple ever on the series.

CBS

7. Kurt and Blaine ("Klaine"), Glee

I don't want to spend too much time on this because I have an irrational hatred for this stupid show, but know this: Kurt and Blaine's romance gave us Glee's spectacular cover of "Teenage Dream," and for that we should all be thankful (except Katy Perry, who should be ashamed, because, well, her version is awful in comparison).

FOX

6. Alex Kelly and Marissa Cooper, The OC

Bad girl Alex Kelly and sort-of-good-girl Marissa Cooper got together after pretending to be dating to get Alex's psycho ex-girlfriend away. They later moved into together before ultimately splitting. Also, their first kiss was partially responsible for a lot of millennial guys' crusty socks. Just saying.

FOX

5. Emily and Maya ("Emaya"), Pretty Little Liars

Bisexual Maya and lesbian Emily have gone through a lot: Maya got sent to rehab for pot (remember, it's an ABC Family show), Emily's parents weren't accepting of their sexuality ... then they finally confirmed their total and undying love for one another and, like David Fisher and Keith Charles, lived happily ever after until one of them ended up dead. Yikes.

ABC Family

4. David Fisher and Keith Charles, Six Feet Under

After a long on-again off-again romance, David Fisher and Keith Charles of Six Feet Under finally come to terms with their own identities as well as with their love for one another, get married and adopt two sons. They live happily ever after ... until Keith gets murdered, but hey, shit happens.

HBO

3. Tara Maclay and Willow Rosenberg, Buffy

When Willow revealed to Buffy that she had feelings for Tara, she avoided labeling herself and just said she was falling in love with her. As their relationship blossomed, so did Willow's magical powers. That's a pretty good incentive for romance.

IMDB

2. Chris Keller and Tobias Beecher, Oz

Before he was chasing pervs and perps on Law & Order: SVU, Christopher Meloni starred as an imprisoned psychopathic killer named Chris Keller on Oz. Keller planned to manipulate fellow (and much less harmful) convict Tobias Beecher, but actually ended up falling in love with him. Aw.

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1. Aaron and Eric, The Walking Dead

Aaron and Eric will do anything for one another, and their relationship has a lot of romantic parallels with Glenn and Maggie's. The only real difference is that Aaron and Eric both pee standing up (and that Rick doesn't really trust them).

AMC

Cameron and Mitchell are the absolute cutest, whether they're revisiting Cam's clown past or bickering over Mitchell being uptight. Their relationship is both hilarious and realistic, and their sassy daughter Lily just completes it. They're everything.